By KT Reporter
President Yoweri Museveni has directed the Trade Minister, Francis Mwebesa, to issue directives deterring millers from deducting trash fees from sugarcane farmers.
This follows a meeting Museveni had with both millers and sugarcane farmers at Kityerera State Lodge in Mayuge district on Wednesday.
Isa Budhugo, the chairperson of the Uganda National Association of sugarcane growers, said that the millers convert the trash resulting from the cane leaves into bagasse, and they shouldn’t deduct any fees from them.
Budhugo says that the trash fees at times shoot up to 25% whereas on seemingly clean cane, the trash deductions are 5%. He said this further affects the already meagre earnings of farmers, who he claims are struggling with unstable sugarcane prices.
Mwebesa noted that he had written to the millers to stop what he termed as sanctioned fees; however, some are complying, whereas others are not.
Mwebesa says that staff within the trade ministry are fast-tracking the implementation of this directive by millers across the country as they move to end noncompliance.
The representative from Uganda Millers Association-UMA, Jim Kabeho however, dismissed Budhugo’s claims, arguing that bagasse is extracted from the sugarcane residue and not leaves.
Kabeho advised farmers to only deliver cane without leaves, as it will deter deductions of trash fees from the farmers.
Museveni argued that the trash would be diverted into mulching rather than taking it to the millers. He insists that millers should desist from collecting the 5% from farmers with immediate effect, but instead devise means of sensitising them to ferry clean sugarcane to the mills.
Museveni also challenged millers to present the trade ministry with visual evidence of adamant farmers ferrying trash to the mills, which will inform the next course of action.
Museveni also directed Mwebesa to operationalise the sugar council in four days, a joint board where both millers and farmers leaders alike can meet to share ideas on how they can steer this industry to greater levels.
Mwebesa says that the names of the nominees were submitted to the Internal Security Organization-ISO for screening.
This process, Mwebesa notes, will be followed by presenting the members before the parliamentary vetting committee.
Museveni adds that this council is handling farmers’ challenges ranging from pricing, input support, among others, and its operationalisation has been long overdue-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
